Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to immunocompetent animal models that are immunologically tolerant to xenogenic tissue, and methods of making and using the same.
Description of Related Art
There is a tremendous demand for more sophisticated animal models for preclinical testing that more closely reflect the human body. Many preclinical therapies that are tested in rodents fail miserably when they get to human trials. Thus, having convincing data in an “intermediate” species would be of tremendous value in the decision tree for taking a product or idea forward. These studies would also significantly enhance the prospects for INDs and clinical trials. No such models exist in the pig or other large animals as tumors are almost impossible to initiate in the fetal animal. Transgenic animals are difficult to produce since efficient embryonic stem cells or homologous recombination methods are not available. Severe combined immune-deficient (SCID) animals are difficult and expensive to raise and have issues when used as disease models. It would be greatly advantageous to have access to “tolerogenic,” or immunologically tolerant, animals for human cellular transplants of cancer cells or other cells for disease modeling.